Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

Local children in Meidrim are pictured enjoying their new dream park. The rural community of Meidrim has had its play area transformed into My Dream Park. The county council provided a Rural Community Inclusion grant, local children gave their ideas of what they wanted for ‘My Dream Park’, and Meidrim Welfare Committee ran the project. The Committee has installed a variety of new equipment at the park including a zip wire, swing, multi play frames, roundabouts, and Seesaw. They designed the layout of the park equipment to create three distinct play areas for toddlers, older children and young teenagers, as well as leaving an area free of equipment in order to create a grass play area. Rural Community Inclusion is part of the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 .

A new £1.59 million grant scheme being run by Carmarthenshire County Council’s Physical Regeneration  section is offering grants of up to £10,000 to tourism businesses to help make their facilities more environmentally friendly. The “greener tourism” grant scheme, which offers funding up to 80 per cent of total project costs, is open to micro-enterprises involved in the tourism sector in rural Carmarthenshire. The aim of the initiative is to encourage tourism facilities to improve their green credentials and achieve energy savings through the installation of “green” systems such as solar panels, waste management measures or nature trails with interpretation, for example. The project has received funding through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007 – 13 which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. Executive Board Member for Regeneration and Leisure, Cllr. Meryl Gravell, said “The Greener Tourism grant scheme will help us to ...

Shelley Williams of The Vintage Tea Party is organising a Christmas Market to be held in St Peter’s Civic Hall on November 12. Shelley won RDP Sir Gâr’s 2010 Dragon’s Den style competition – Cwtch y Ddraig – with her idea to hire out her vintage tea sets for special occasions. Her prize was £500 from the businesses sponsoring the event toward her business start up and she has since gone on to open a shop, The Vintage Tea Party, on Carmarthen’s Mansel Street. “The competition gave me the opportunity to meet with other businesses and entrepreneurs and my business evolved very quickly with the resultant media attention that came with being a winner. It also gave me confidence to take The Vintage Tea Party forward as the judges believed in me” says Shelley. RDP are working to regenerate rural Carmarthenshire through the Rural Development Plan (RDP) for Wales 2007 – 2013 which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The latest RDP Sir Gâr ...

Penybanc Business Services have turned a former calving shed into a Business and Training Centre following a Rural Conversion Grant of £60,548 from RDP. The Centre has recently opened in Drefelin. The Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and you can find out what grants may be available for you by visiting the West Wales European Centre’s website www.wwec.org.uk

A therapy room, offices, multi purpose IT training room, gallery and innovations workshop have been opened in Panteg by Peter and Hazel Saville. The Savilles received a grant of £154,185 through RDP’s Rural Conversion Grant to turn a Dutch barn, Cegin Fach and cowshed into the new facilities. The Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and you can find out what grants may be available for you by visiting the West Wales European Centre’s website www.wwec.org.uk

Funding is being brought into the Tywi Valley to safeguard its landscape and promote its rural heritage and culture. Canolfan Tywi Centre, based at Dinefwr Farm, Llandeilo, has secured funding through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013 which is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. Further financial assistance for this project has also been provided by Carmarthenshire County Council, the Countryside Council for Wales and the National Trust. The Canolfan Tywi Centre will be implementing the Carmarthenshire Landscape and Heritage Grant Scheme will promote the distinctiveness of rural communities by conserving the rural heritage and culture of rural Carmarthenshire. Furthermore the aim is to protect and enhance the area’s natural environment through protecting the area’s biodiversity and improve the quality of life for rural communities, instilling a sense of place. There are two grants available under this scheme: the...

The Deputy Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and European Programmes, Alun Davies, paid a visit to the Tywi Valley to see how the £15.7 million invested in the county by the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007 -13 (RDP) is helping rural communities in the area. The RDP for Wales 2007-2013 is funded by the Welsh Government and the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development and is a scheme to regenerate rural Carmarthenshire. Individuals, community groups and rural businesses have all benefitted under the scheme and the Minister met with a selection of these beneficiaries during the day. First stop was the office of Tywi Afan Yr Oesoedd (TAYO) in Llandeilo to learn how the organisation is strengthening links between the community and the landscape and helping people develop the skills needed to look after the landscape. Mr Davies was able to see the effect of TAYO’s work when he visited Cwm y Sgyfarnog Farm. Farmers Mr and Mrs Jamieson received assistance of £6,500 via ...

A Carmarthen café has been given a facelift thanks to a grant from the Rural Development Plan for Wales. Caban y Dderwen in Mansel Street was given a Village Improvement Grant (VIG) to cover half the £4,690 cost of replacing the wooden shopfront. The grant was made under the Village Enhancement Project, which has received funding of £940,049 through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007 – 2013, which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Agricultural fund for Rural Development. The Project aims to enhance the appearance of rural towns and villages and stimulate economic growth. The VIG itself is aimed to enhance the branding of commercial properties in rural areas. Caban owner Nia Jones said she was delighted to have received such support from the local authority. She said: “Caban y Dderwen is in the Conservation Area and it has all been redone in the same traditional style. “It looks so much cleaner and better and has more kerbside appeal. A lot of people hav...

The Drovers Bed and Breakfast in Llandovery is being given a facelift thanks to a grant under the Rural Development Plan for Wales. The owners of the business in Market Square, Llandovery, Jill and Michael Blud are looking to restore the building in order to match an adjoining property which has recently been updated as a result of the Town Heritage Initiative. The B&B has recently been upgraded from 4 Star to 5 Star accommodation. It offers two double and one twin room, all en-suite, and has featured in Alistair Sawday’s ‘Special Places to Stay’ guide. The business in Market Square, Llandovery, has been given a Village Improvement Grant (VIG) of £2,030 towards the £4,060 cost of the project to upgrade nine sash windows and paint the frontage of the property which is a Grade 2 listed building. This grant has been made under the Village Enhancement Project, which has received funding of £940,049 through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007 – 2013, which is funded by the Welsh A...

Llangadog Post Office is being given a facelift thanks to a grant from the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007-2013. The post office and newsagents in Church Street, Llangadog, has been given a Village Improvement Grant (VIG) of £8,538 towards the estimated £17,471 cost of the project to refurbish the shopfront in a traditional style. The work will include replacing the aluminium windows and door with hardwood and re-rendering the property. This grant has been made under the Village Enhancement Project, which has received funding of £940,049 through the Rural Development Plan for Wales 2007 – 2013, which is funded by the Welsh Assembly Government and the European Agricultural fund for Rural Development. The project aims to enhance the appearance of rural towns and villages and stimulate economic growth. The VIG itself is aimed to enhance the branding of commercial properties in rural areas. Project Development Officer Michael Morgan said: “Morgan’s Newsagent and Post Office is in a p...